The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. Indicating instruments or gauges for viewing by drivers of vehicles generally include an analog portion for displaying and/or controlling vehicle operating conditions, such as the temperature of the interior cabin of a vehicle. In more recent vehicles, indicating instruments generally include a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying and/or controlling the vehicle operating conditions. An analog device typically includes a faceplate having indicia adjacent a scale to denote levels of the scale and a pointer for rotating to the indicia and scale numbers, such as mile per hour markings. While such analog and LCD devices have generally proven satisfactory for their intended purposes, they have been associated with their share of limitations.
One such limitation of current vehicles with analog and/or LCD devices relates to their safety. Because such analog and LCD devices are normally located in separate, side-by-side locations on a dash of a vehicle, a driver of the vehicle may have to remove his or her hands a far distance from a steering wheel of the vehicle to reach and adjust vehicle operating conditions. While adjusting the vehicle operating conditions on the analog and LCD devices, the driver may not be ready to make a sudden, emergency turn, for example.
Another limitation of current vehicles employing analog and/or LCD devices is related to their accuracy of use. To avoid accidents, the driver has to preferably adjust vehicle operating conditions on the analog and LCD devices while keeping his or her eyes on the road. Without being able to look at the analog and LCD devices, the driver may incorrectly adjust the vehicle operating conditions.
What is needed then is a device that does not suffer from the above disadvantages. This, in turn, will provide an LCD device that is safe for the driver to control. In addition, the LCD device should lead to accurate use even without having to see the LCD device.